What is New South Wales Emergency Services Levy (ESL)?
The New South Wales ESL provides funding for emergency services in NSW, including Fire and Rescue NSW, the NSW Rural Fire Service and the State Emergency Service, all of which help keep our community safe. Insurers regularly contribute to this funding through the NSW ESL, which is included in residential and commercial property policies, as well as motor insurance policies.
How are insurers, including QBE, involved in funding NSW emergency services?
Insurers have a legal obligation to contribute to the funding of NSW emergency services. We collect the NSW Emergency Services Levy on relevant insurance premiums.
What does this mean for QBE policy holders?
We will be progressively implementing these new ESL rates on new business and renewals for applicable insurance policies from 8 February 2025. We are working with our external partners to implement these rates changes according to their individual systems.
How will I know how much ESL I am paying on my insurance policy?
You'll receive an insurance schedule or statement when you purchase insurance cover and a premium comparison when you renew insurance cover. This makes it easy to see how premiums have changed and clearly sets out the NSW ESL component.
Why has my insurance premium increased?
Premiums are regularly reviewed and likely to change each time they’re renewed because they’re affected by many different factors. This includes things like the chance of you making a claim under your policy, the options you’ve chosen, as well as the overall cost of claims, costs of doing business and other commercial factors. These factors can be influenced by changes in technology and repair and supplier costs, as well as operating and reinsurance expenses.
Any changes to QBE’s base premiums are independent of changes to the NSW ESL.
Further information
If you have any questions about the changes to the NSW Emergency Services Levy or the amount of NSW Emergency Services Levy that applies to your policy, please call us on 133 723.